India improved its ranking in the global innovation index by five places to 52nd in 2019 from 57th position in the last year, according to a report released Wednesday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal released the Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings here.

India's three cities -- Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi, also featured in the world's top 100 science and technology clusters, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019.

Switzerland retained its number-one spot on the GII rankings. It was followed by Sweden, the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel in the top 10 places.

Switzerland retained its number-one spot on the index. Other economies in the top 10 are: Sweden, the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel.

The GII is computed by taking a simple average of the scores in two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index, which are composed of five and two pillars respectively. Each of these pillars describe an attribute of innovation, and comprise up to five indicators, and their score is calculated by the weighted average method.

Notably, in January this year it was for the first time ever that India has made it to Bloomberg’s list of most innovative countries in the world.

According to GII 2019 index, India improved its position the most in certain pillars including labour productivity growth, knowledge and technology outputs, intellectual property related variables. It also witnessed improvement in institutions, human capital and research, and market sophistication indicators.

In Central and South Asia, Iran ranked 61st and Kazakhstan at 79th. Pakistan ranked at 105th.

India remained at the top in the region and moved up to the 4th position in the GII rankings among lower-middle-income economies. India has also outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for nine years in a row.

"The country confirms its rank among the top 50 economies in two pillars—Market sophistication (33rd) and Knowledge and technology outputs (32nd)—with the latter being the pillar in which India ranks the highest this year," the GII report said.

India also witnessed notable gains in political and operational stability where a new indicator is used this year and in ease of starting a business. It, however, lagged logistics performance and females employed with advanced degrees. "The largest drops are found in logistics performance, females employed with advanced degrees, and printing and other media," the report said.

DPIIT Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that the government is working to improve its intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. "We are increasing manpower, simplifying procedures and using technology to significantly reduce the time for examination of applications," Abhishek said.

Speaking at the function, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said that the GII shows that countries that prioritise innovation in their policies have seen significant increases in their rankings.

"The rise in the GII by economic powerhouses like China and India have transformed the geography of innovation and this reflects deliberate policy action to promote innovation," he said.

Further the report stated that despite signs of slowing economic growth, innovation continues to blossom, particularly in Asia, but pressures are looming from trade disruptions and protectionism.

"Most top science and technology clusters are in the US, China, and Germany, whlie Brazil, India, Iran, Russia, and Turkey also feature in the top 100 list," it said.

In Global R&D companies, India reached the 15th spot as the second middle-income economy.

"In this pillar, the indicator graduates in science and engineering (7th) remains a relative strength for the country. Thanks to the quality of its top 3 universities— IITs (Delhi and Bombay) and the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, India achieves a relatively strong ranking in the indicator quality of universities (21st)," the report added

The GII ranks 129 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications. The GII rankings are published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and GII Knowledge Partners.

Now in its 12th edition, the GII ranks 129 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.
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